Annoyance may not seem like a superpower, but Stuart “Stu” Moseley, also known by his alter ego the Heckler, will disagree. With Tom and Mary Bierbaum, Keith Giffen created the Heckler with classic cartoons in mind. Giffen set out to create a character reminiscent of Bugs Bunny but wanted creative freedom to put his spin on it. Giffen’s idea manifested into a six-issue series starting in 1992, and he started The Heckler with humor as a priority. S
imilar to how Bugs Bunny irritates his opponents until they defeat themselves, Giffen drafted a similar fighting style for his protagonist.
The Heckler’s day job is co-owning a restaurant, called Eats, in a rundown area of Delta City. He lacks real superpowers except the ability to annoy and insult his opponents and has a slight resistance to injury. As Stu, he is an awkward man who isn’t even successful enough to fully own his dive diner, but as the Heckler, he gains the confidence to say what’s on his mind. The Heckler is the only hero in Delta City and has to protect its citizens from a wide array of tongue-in-cheek villains. One of his main foes is Boss Glitter who manages a criminal enterprise throughout Delta City while displaying a flair for theatrics. The irony is that no matter how many criminals the Heckler takes down, the public is apathetic towards his cause.
Keeping with the Bugs Bunny theme, a bounty hunter named Bushwack’r is similar to Wile E. Coyote in the sense that he is continually the reason for his own demise. John Doe, also known as the Generic Man, threatens to make Delta City generic and is accompanied by his girlfriend Buckshot, who can utilize her exploding freckles. He also faces the Cosmic Clown, a killer robot that dresses like a clown, and C’est Hay, literally a singing, dancing scarecrow. In one of the Heckler’s greatest victories, he prevents the apocalypse from happening but rather than defending Delta City from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he fights their sidekicks, the Four Mopeds of the Apocalypse. The Four Mopeds are tasked with summoning an Elder God made only of a digestive system but the Heckler prevents this grotesque creature from destroying the world.
The Heckler #7 was solicited, but no work was ever made to bring it to life. The ‘90s saw a dip in humor-driven comics, and this led to low sales for the series. As popularity for The Heckler continued to decrease as the run went on, Giffen and DC canceled the series after issue #6.
The Heckler has made a few cameos since then, most notably when he was reminiscing on his crime-fighting days with a group of low-level superheroes at a bar in The Book of Fate. The real legacy from the Heckler’s story is that of his hometown. Giffen created another character named Vext who became a resident of Delta City. Vext is a deity of mishap and misfortune that settled down in Delta City after his services were no longer required as a god. More famously, Delta City is the headquarters of the Doom Patrol when Giffen wrote for the series. The Heckler may be forgotten by most, but Delta City has continued to live on despite its infamous protector.